Provocative Thought and Intelligent Discourse for All!

What if it was your daughter, Mr. President?

Imagine late one night there’s a knock at your front door. You open it. Standing before you is your grown daughter. She’s crying. Her nose has been bloodied, one eye is puffy and bruised. She tells you her husband hit her.

Now, imagine your daughter’s name is Ivanka. And you’re the President of the United States. She tells you your son-in-law, your close adviser, Jared, did this to her. You confront him. He tells you he didn’t do it.

Do you believe him? After all, he said he didn’t do it.

What if it’s your close adviser and Communications Director, Hope Hicks? Would you believe her if she told you the guy she’s been dating did this to her? A guy who says he didn’t physically or emotionally or psychologically abuse either of his two ex-wives or a former girlfriend. A guy who, until last week, was with you every single day of your presidency, handling highly classified correspondence and papers – despite being denied a permanent security clearance in part because of the abuse charges against him.

Would you believe Hope? Even if her accused boyfriend, Rob Porter, denied doing it?

None of us can answer those questions for the president. But, as indicated by his behavior this past week, he’s not introspective enough to seriously consider acts of domestic violence and their consequences.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an average of 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. The American Psychological Association reports three women are murdered in the U.S. each day by current or former romantic partners. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that during a one year period nearly 4.8 million women experienced physical violence by someone with whom they’ve had an intimate relationship.

Clearly, the president, who famously doesn’t like to read, is unaware of these statistics.

The president said that Rob Porter was “falsely accused,” and that the statements of his ex-wives, Jennifer Willoughby and Colbie Holderness, as well as one of his recent ex-girlfriends were “mere allegations.”

In an Op-Ed in “Time” this week, Willoughby asks, “If the most powerful people in the nation do not believe my story of abuse in the face of overwhelming evidence, then what hope do others have of being heard?”

If President Trump had his way, absolutely no hope. For Hope Hicks, daughters Ivanka or Tiffany, or any woman who is a victim of domestic violence.

The number of women who have stepped forward and accused the president himself of predatory behavior and inappropriate sexual misconduct is in the dozens. Given the president’s age, that number is likely far greater.

Why would these women lie? And why is it that the so-called “leader of the free world” is quick to deny both the accusations and further evidence provided by the FBI? Oh, beg pardon, the corrupt “deep state” agency trying to “get Trump.”

The president lives, breathes, and believes his own brand of reality. Throughout his life, he’s surrounded himself with rapists, sexual predators, abusive men, and misogynists. Some are good friends who just got a raw deal.

President Trump believes pedophiles like former Alabama senatorial candidate Roy Moore should be taken at their word when they deny pushing themselves on underage girls. No matter how many women, in Moore’s case, stepped forward and reported experiencing unwanted advances by this self-proclaimed man of God when they were just teenagers.

The president also stood by former world heavyweight boxing champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson. Trump said the whole thing was the fault of his 18-year-old victim. He called the conviction “a travesty.”

Trump backed friend and convicted billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – a man who court records allege molested more than 40 young girls at his Florida mansion.

In 2002, Trump told “New York Magazine” that Jeffrey is a “Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

As does the president.

Terrific guy, that Jeffrey Epstein. A lot of fun to be with. Especially when he’s soliciting thirteen-year-old girls for prostitution, for which he was convicted, and allegedly recruiting dozens of underage girls into a sex-slave network.

Whether you are a Trump supporter or not, ask yourself, what would you say or do if it was your daughter who had been sexually assaulted or domestically abused?

Most likely, you would not give her husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, or domestic partner the benefit of the doubt, even if they denied it. You might consider doing something in retaliation that could land you in jail.

President Trump said “There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone.” The president says lives have been “shattered.” What about the shattered lives of ex-wives and ex-girlfriends who contend they encountered nearly identical episodes of abuse when involved in relationships with his former aide?

Some may be appalled by the harsh tone of this column. But what is more appalling? Reality? Or the words, actions, and behavior of a former reality television star turned commander-in-chief? How about both.